Here we offer a selection of our favourite books on military history. Some are the books we have used as sources for this site, some are good introductions to their subjects and others are interesting oddities.
We also have a selection of over one hundred longer book reviews.
All links on this site go straight to the relevant Amazon web site (currently we link to the UK, US and Canadian sites), where you can place orders for any of the books listed here.
Recent Reviews
 Vietnam Airmobile Warfare Tactics, Gordon L. Rottman. This is a very interesting Osprey and is well written by a former veteran of the conflict and illustrated to the usual high Osprey standard. It discusses the use of various types of helicopters and the rapid introduction of new types. Organisation and tactics are discussed but not in huge depth as this book covers a lot in its 64 pages. This book generally wets the appetite for more information and would go well with other Ospreys covering different aspects of the Vietnam War [see more]. |
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 C-47/R4D Skytrain Units of the Pacific and CBI, David Isby. Although the war in the Pacific is often seen as predominantly a naval war, very few of the Allied offensives would have been possible without the C-47/R4D (known as the Dakota in RAF service). Isby packs a great deal into this book, looking at the role the C-47 played in every part of the war against Japan, from the frozen Aleutians to the jungles of Burma. Often operating in areas within range of Japanese fighters, the Air Force's C-47s and Navy's R4Ds flew supplies into forward bases, dropped paratroopers and flew troops directly into newly captured or built airfields and flew casualties away from the front line. [see more] |
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 C-47/R4D Skytrain Units of the ETO and MTO, David Isby. The C-47 was used in every major Allied attack from Operation Torch to the crossing of the Rhine, and played a crucial part in the final Allied victory in Europe. This book focuses on those major offensives, from the often flawed planning to the courageous implementation. For many of the crews involved these huge aerial attacks were their first combat mission and the plans required almost impossible levels of precision, but despite this most of these attacks ended in success. Here we discover why. [see more] |
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 Love and Sand, Howard M. Layton. The autobiography of a RAF Navigator who took part in the campaign in East Africa and the evacuation from Greece, flew on the Trans-Africa ferry route and fought in the El Alamein campaign. Layton weaves his military experiences into the wider story of his life, taking us from pre-war Coventry, through North Africa, and on to his post-war life in America [see more] |
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 Il-2 Shturmovik Guards Units of World War 2, Oleg Rastrenin Osprey Combat Aircraft 71. This is a very valuable look at the relatively unfamiliar career of a famous aircraft, written by a Russian aviation historian, and based very heavily on Soviet era archives. Produced in greater numbers than any other Second World War aircraft, the Il-2 was the backbone of the Soviet air force, while the Guards Units were its elite. [see more] |
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 Panther Medium Tank, 1942-45, Stephen A. Hart, Osprey New Vanguard 67. This look at what was probably the best German tank of the Second World War concentrates on the technical development of the Panther. The text is divided into chapters on each of the major versions of the Panther, looking at their development, production, deployment and combat career. As a result the text flows well, and each new development is placed properly in its context. [see more] |
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